Results of the Transparency International Index for Albania are of serious concern, says OSCE Head of Presence Bernd Borchardt

Transparency International published the results of its Corruption Perceptions Index 2017 on 22 February 2018, ranking Albania the 91st among 180 countries and territories included in the index, a drop of eight places since 2016. Albania scored 38 out of 100 points.

Combating corruption within the public sector remains one of the world’s biggest challenges, with the majority of countries indexed making “little or no progress” in combating corruption.

In South-Eastern Europe, areas such the judiciary, law enforcement, freedom of press and civil society are the most affected.

The Transparency South-Eastern Europe stated that in Albania, progress was made in tackling petty corruption in the public sector, but much more must be done on the bigger issues such as corruption in the judiciary.

“The phenomenon of corruption in the country continues to be of serious concern,” said OSCE Head of Presence Bernd Borchardt. “We call on public institutions and the rule of law agencies in Albania to proceed with the implementation of justice and anti-corruption reforms in line with international recommendations and obligations of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.”

Borchardt said that public institutions need to be more accountable for their work and officials must be more transparent in their decision-making. “Citizens must play their part, too, by refusing to tolerate or sustain the problem.”

Corruption remains particularly difficult to investigate and prosecute. The OSCE Presence in Albania calls for enhancing the accountability of the public administration, independent institutions and the independent investigation of corruption.

“The result of this year’s Index demands our intensified efforts to fight this phenomenon. The OSCE Presence in Albania regrets that the positive trend since 2013 (taking Albania from a low of 31 points to 39) was reversed in 2017 and remains committed to supporting Albania in its fight against corruption,” said Borchardt.